Atarashii Jinsei-New Life
by MrSir17
Summary: I am in danger. Just existing in this world puts my life in jeopordy. But I want to live! So I will grow strong. I will grow stronger than any of them. So strong that I never have to be scared again. And I'll do it without knowing whats to come. Becuase this world isn't what I was expecting. It's different. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, my name is MrSir17 and it's great to finally meet you. I've been reading fanfiction for years and I've just gathered the courage to post something. Sorry to say that it's a self-insert. Don't run away yet! I know this is a concept that's been beaten to death, but I hope I can change it up a little. I hope you enjoy!**

I heaved a great long sigh. I'd known for years that I wasn't exactly where I'd been last time. The last time I grown up, things were normal. People didn't leap buildings, or carry weapons all over town. In fact the last time I grew up the towns didn't look the way they did here. It was strange sorting all of these different facts out. When I first had a semblance of conciseness, it was dark. I felt trapped in a void I couldn't escape from. It seemed to have lasted an eternity. I thought I would lose my mind I sat in the dark so long. Then I heard a voice, a sweet soothing voice. At the time I didn't know what was happening, but now that I thought back on it, it was defiantly my mother.

I glanced out the window and scowled. I shared this room with three other small boys. Right now I was watching them all run outside to play whatever it was small orphan boys play. I wasn't allowed out there with them. The matron told me to stay in my room for the morning. I wasn't sure what it was all about, but it got him _very_ annoyed with the matron.

I didn't understand what got her panties in a wad. Of course this whole thing could have stemmed from the conversation where I had felt it my job to inform her of her status as a bitch. But of course that whole thing had been a misunderstanding! The matron wasn't always terible! Sometimes she could be pretty cool. Most of the time though she was a prune.

I glanced down at my hand and continued to marvel at how _wrong_ it looked. Normal people didn't look like this. In fact normal places shouldn't look like this. How did it look one might ask? It looked like a cartoon.

An anime to be precise, but that was beside the point. It looked like someone had drawn the room I was in. It looked like someone had drawn me into it. This was one of the more disturbing facts that had taken a long time of my short re-existence to get used to. When I tried to explain how wrong the world looked to the matron, she took it as me wanting to cause mischief. She punished me when I tried to tell the other children. The matron seemed to have many different ways to punish me. Most included locking me in my room. Sometimes she'd get creative and keep me from eating supper or a royal spanking.

The times she tried to spank me I'd usually bite her. She hadn't tried it recently. I didn't really mind getting locked in my room. It gave me the chance to sit and read. Reading at all had taken a long freaking time. Even now I could barley decipher the children's books I found around the orphanage. When I asked the fair lady matron to teach me, she'd looked genuinely surprised. With a strange hitch in her voice she'd asked me why I wanted to know so early. If I wanted to learn why didn't I wait to go to the civilian school Shinhaki? I'd told her if I had to stay in so often I'd want something to do. Surprisingly the matron smiled at me and said, "I'd love to teach you how to read."

She would sit me down five times a week to go over the strange symbols and alphabets of this new world. It made me scratch his head sometimes the complexity, but the matron usually helped. The matron, in my opinion, was hard to peg. Sometimes she was a mean old hard ass, and other times she was gentle and kind. When I finally grew the nerve to ask her, she stumbled. "Well, you remind me of someone I lost a few years ago. It's sometimes hard for me to be around without lashing out and getting emotional." I must have looked at her strangely because she laughed. "I'm not sure I understand? If I remind you of someone, then why do you hate me?" Her face sobered up and her mouth thinned into a line. "The person you remind me of is my Kohei. He was killed four years ago, in the Kyubi attack. I don't hate you. It's just hard to sort out my emotions around you. Kohei is the reason I became a matron. I couldn't take care of my child, so I want to take care of other children. I just get frustrated around you sometimes because you sure can be a handful!"

She'd made me laugh that day. I grew a lot of respect for the matron. I even stopped calling her names, mostly. I'd spent four years in this new world. It hadn't taken but a peak outside and a quick look around to figure out where I was. As I looked out the window now I could easily see the four colossal faces staring back at me. Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Minato were the guardians that looked over us all here in Konoha. Unfortunately the fourth Hokage was killed in the Kyubi incident, like Kohei. Of course I knew all of this. Because it was all an _anime!_

It was strange, but I sometimes dreamed about my birth. No one should remember something as weird and painful as that. An added bonus of course was the killing intent. It was something I had nightmares about. I felt a certain pang of guilt whenever the matron talked about Kohei. It was unexplainable; it wasn't like I had anything to do with it.

No, that award went to the Kyubi, who was in my stomach. Oh, had I forgotten to mention that? Yeah, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. How screwed up was that? Nothing about my previous life suggested anything special. I'd been fifteen, almost done with freshman year in fact! I'd gone to sleep one night and woken up in the womb of Kushina.

My birth hadn't exactly been the most peaceful. At the time I'd still been confused about exactly what was happening to me. I didn't know yet that I was in an anime. I felt a lurch, and then a pull, and then the killing intent. The minute my mother began giving birth to me, the Kyubi began its escape attempt. At the time I hadn't experienced anything so frightening in my life. I'd spent so much time in Kushina's womb that the suddeness of my birth was jarring. I don't think anyone could describe what it was like to be born but me. I usually tried not to think about how I'd thought the walls were closing in on me. Later when I found out I'd actually gone through birth, I shuddered. I exited my mother and then there was light, and sound.

The evil intent disappeared with it. Then I cried. Whether it was the pain and suddenness of my birth or the fact that everything was extremely blurry and bright, I cried. I felt a blanket get wrapped around me. Then red filled my vision. A babie's eye sight doesn't develop right away. All I could make out was a figure draped in red. A woman.

The woman said something but I didn't really catch it. Trying to say anything, my voice came out as a shriek. I didn't know how I was being carried. I was to tall to be carried like this right? Things started getting really shaky, and I figured out later this was probably when the masked man attacked my parents. My vision was still very shoddy, but my hearing was just fine. I heard a voice that honestly gave me the chills. Then I was tossed into the air. You can bet I cried, like a baby. What the heck was going on! Suddenly I was grabbed by two strong arms. Hissing filled my ears when the man flung my blanket off of me and jumped. Then the man placed me down on a soft bed, and disappeared from his subpar vision. A few minutes later the man came back, carrying his mother. He placed her down next to him and whispered some things to her, then disappeared once more. I felt warm and safe with this woman. She whispered some words into my ear that I couldn't understand, but it didn't matter. This woman, my mother, radiated safeness. I wasn't sure how long I spent with my new mother before I fell asleep. I'd always regret not staying awake, spending just a few more precious moments with my mother. When I awoke again, my parents had been killed.

Those first two or three years of life were scary. My vision eventually started working just fine. It was then that I got my first look at the world around me. It took a long time to get used to feeling things with my hands and feet, and them not looking real. Nothings more confusing or worrying than a cartoon lady coming at you with googly eyes to change your diaper.

One day while the matron was holding him, she said my name. It was the first time anyone had said my new name. She called him 'Little Naruto-chan'.

Something I noticed while I tried to sleep was a tingly feeling, all over inside my body. I guessed it might be chakra, or cancer. Hey I was sure I was crazy at the time. As the first years went by, I was extremly bored. My days were filled to the brim with eating, pooping, and sleeping. Riveting right? Something I thought about often was the future. It was aproaching fast. What could I possibly do?

Still looking out the window I felt a surge of rebellion. I didn't really care if the matron said to stay in the room or not. I was bored, and a bored Naruto was a very dangerous Naruto. Grinning like a madman all the way I snuck down the stairs and past the matron's room as quietly as possible. Exiting the orphanage and out into the fresh air I decided to walk in a random direction and see where it took me. In my four years of life I hadn't really explored any! Walking by a window of a store I got a good look at myself, spiky blonde hair, shockingly blue eyes, and a raggedy t-shirt and shorts. It was still a little jarring to look into the mirror and see someone I'd watched on tv. Grinning into the mirror, I started to make different silly faces. It was hilarious to see Naruto make such ridiculous faces. I was startled back into reality when a woman inside the store gave me an astounded look. Feeling bemused and embarresed, I grinned and waved.

The woman sniffed, turned her nose up into the air and walked away. Still feeling a little dumb, I stuck my hands into my pockets and continued down the street. Konoha itself was way bigger than you'd expect. The orphanage I lived in was actually located in the east district of the village. It was primarily a civilian district. The village was set up in an interesting way, with the east and west sides being mostly civilian housing, restaurants, and shops. The south side looks like the east and west but if you look carefully it houses most of the defenses. Since the south side houses the main village's gate, the ninja of the village are very careful about stuff like that. The north side has the ninja academy, the Hokage's mansion, and most of the ninja buildings involving paperwork. He hadn't been to any of these other places, but the older kids at the orphanage never got tired of bragging to Naruto how they got to play all around the village.

I eventually wound up in what looked like a play ground. A grin splitting on my face, I sprinted all the way passed everything until I got to the swings. There were three swings all connected to one piece. Two parents were pushing their children at a nice comforatble height. Climbing onto the middle swing, which was surprisingly high! I began trying to push hmy weight back and forth getting the momentum he would need. It was the most familiar thing I'd done in four years. I didn't happen to notice the signifigant looks the two adults were giving each other. Feeling a little adventerous, I turned to say something to the boy swinging next to him.

I jumped a little when both parents stopped their children's swings and ushered them away. Feeling a little hurt, I tried not to let it stop me from enjoying my swing time. I started to giggle as the wind blew through my hair. I hadn't been on a swing in years. Even before I was reborn it had been a while. There hadn't been any playgrounds at my high school. I felt the rush of youth coming full force. I felt like a kid again! Imitating my previous childhood I got as high as I possibly could, and let go. The feeling of falling, my heart lurching into my throat, it was great!

Of course the ground came just as quick as it always did. Brushing the wood chips out of my animated hair, giggling at the absurdity of it all. As strange as this whole situation was, a swing would always be a swing. To me it just felt normal. My mad laughter died down when I noticed the once bustling play ground, was now being disserted. Ouch, I couldn't help but think to myself. That really sucked.

It was a realization that had probably overdue. I'd been shielded by the walls of the orphanage and the skirts of the matron. Sure she was a crazy old bat, but the yelling matches they had were all in jest. It had been tough to pin the matron. I honestly at first couldn't tell whether or not the matron was included in the village wide bias. But it seemed that under all that stuck up BS she wasn't all that bad. It had taken four years to forget about how much people would hate me. It had taken five minutes to remember.

Sighing, I decided it would be too depressing to stick around and started walking away. Sniffling a little, I suddenly realized I was about to freaking cry! Holy crap, wiping my eyes furiously I choked back a sob. It just really sucked having people not like you for no reason whatsoever. Reigning in my remianing masculinity, I shoved my hands in my pocket and continued walking. Taking a look around I realized I ended up in the northern district. It turned out that was kind of a bad idea.

"Hey kid! Wha'dya doin here? This part of town is reserved for _shinobi_." The man slurred his words together as if he'd been drinking. It was obvious he was trying to be threatening. I thought he looked kinda ridiculous. He was leaning against the wall of a building whose sign read "The Leaf's Cup". It took a second for me to read it, and in the time it took the man had crossed the street and was standing over me. Now I was starting to get nervous. "Well then what are _you_ doin here? To me you don't look like anything but a drunk loser."

I always made bad decisions when I was under pressure.

"Why you little brat!" The drunk man reved his hand back, looking like he was ready to smack me silly, when suddenly his fist was stopped by someone else. "Now please good sir, refrian from injuring the weak! There isn't much else in this world that makes me more angry." No way. That voice couldn't possibly be anyone else. The first thing I saw were eyebrows, huge, massive, world changing, eyebrows. "Uh, sup." The man gave me a brilliant smile. It was pretty infectious and made me grin back at him. Letting the drunk's hand go he turned fully to face me. "My name is-," Making a poor decision, the dummy interupted the big man in the green leotard, "Hey hey hey, me and the kid were having a conversation here!" The drunkard put his hand on Eyebrow's shoulder and suddenly he was just gone. It took me a second to realize the man was about an inch into the bar's wall. "Please, refrain from surprising me from behind! I've had half a cup to drink and am a little twitchy!"

"H-Holy crap man! How'd you even do that!" Oh I knew how Eyebrows could do it. This man was Maito Gai, the number one taijutsu master of Konoha. He was also a good man, if memory served right. This was a man I could trust. Even better, he was a ninja I could trust. Considering my future, and all the trouble involved, Gai would be a good friend to have.

"- Maito Gai, the beautiful blue beast of Konoha! Adressing your question young man, it's quite simple! All it takes is a little determination and guts! You can accomplish anything as long as you have those two things! However most of all, you'll need a good healthy dose of YOUTH!" It was all I could do not to laugh. This man was insane, a good kind of insane.

"Well than I should be able to do anything! I've got plenty of youth, I'm four!" Gai quirked one of his massive eyebrows and made a raucous laugh.

"I'm a taijustu specialist. The best in all of Konoha in fact, at your service!" He gave a ludicrous thumbs up, and I could've sworn I saw his eye twinkle. The crowd around them began to disperse, leaving me alone with this beast of a man. Most four year olds would've probably been scared of Gai. Not me though, I had my foreknowledge to let me know this man was safe. Gai was kind to offer me company on my way to the orphanage.

The walk home was interesting, to say the least. I figured this was my chance to get ahead. "So Gai-san, you said you're a taijutsu specialist, that means you're a good fighter right?" I did my best to sound perplexed. It took a lot of effort and attention to keep up the act of a convincing four year old. It was honestly pretty exhausting. Sometimes I'd slip a little and say things other four year olds didn't say. For instance once when the Matron kept him from dinner, "I'm not the one who needs a diet you old bitch!" She had been shocked to say the least. She'd washed ,my mouth out with soap and demanded to know just where I'd gotten his sharp tongue. I'd said a certain older kid had told it to me. The older kid's name was Takamatsu, and he was a jerk, so it was ok. He got a soap scrub too. The universe always came around!

Gai looked down at me with a certain amount of self pride. "Why yes young Uzumaki-san! When it comes to being a ninja I usually rely on my fists. You know the other forms right?" I nodded. Of course I knew.

"Yeah, there's Ninjutstu, and Genjutsu right? If there's two others than why don't you use those too?" It was something I was genuinely confused about. If there's so many different ways to be a good ninja, than wouldn't you want to change it up?

"Well Uzumaki-san, I do use the others. It's just that I'm best in Taijustsu." I couldn't help but marvel at this guy's confidence. He was so absolutely sure of himself. I couldn't help but look up to him. They continued their conversation as they walked down the main street of east district. Gai talked about his training regimen, and the kinds of missions he regularly took upon. It was scary how much this guy took on a daily basis. As they neared the orphanage, I began to fidget. Should I ask him? What would I do if Gai said no! That'd really suck big time.

"Gai-san, one day I want to become a great ninja. Since you're a good one, I was wondering if you could train me!" Gai let out a boisterous laugh. It startled me so bad I lost my entire train of thought.

"OHAHAHAHAHAHA, YOOOOOOOSH! What fire, what youth! I haven't seen so much ferocity in one so young in quite a while! Unfortunately young Uzumaki-san, you are still quite young. So young in fact, that if I were to start training you now it would likely destroy your tiny body. The training that you would be put through could do permanent damage to you. Than you'd never become a ninja!" I lowered my head dejectedly. Figures it wouldn't be that easy to get ahead.

"However I could get you started on the very basics. Things such as chakra control, basic katas, maybe some minor weight training. When you enter the academy I could always boost the training to a higher tier! How does that sound Uzumaki-san!" Not really being able to hold in my excitement any longer I yelled out.

"YATTA! This is great! I can't wait to train with you Gai-san! You have no idea how great I'll be! One day I'm going to be the strongest ninja the world has ever seen, and you'll get to tell everyone how you trained me! Oh by the way, please call me Naruto. Uzumaki-san just makes me feel old" Gai again laughed, it was something Gai seemed to do often, and it was a welcome sound.

"Well than young Naruto-san, meet me at training ground twenty four at seven AM starting on Saturday. I look forward to getting you started! Well, I'll see you on Saturday. Take care, Naruto-san!" As Gai vanished from view, I noticed with a jolt that I was standing next to the orphanage. I'd been so absorbed with Gai that I hadn't even noticed! It made sense though. Gai sure did attract all of your attention when he talked. With another jolt I realized that the matron was standing at the door looking at me with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

"What exactly did I tell you to do this morning? What were my exact words Naruto-kun?" I scratched the back of my head, trying to put up the best innocent face I could.

"Oh common O-bachan! That was hours ago, and I'm a busy minded boy. Do you really expect me to remember something that happened this morning! We might as well be kindred spirits, my memories shoddy, your memory just isn't there-OW! Hey what was that for!" The matron had smacked me behind the head something fierce!

"What'dya think it's for ya brat! My memories are just fine thank you very much, and so are yours! I told you this morning to stay in your room! You had a potential foster this morning that was dying to meet you!"

"Wha-…" There really wasn't anything else I could say to that. Someone had actually stopped by to see me? ...That wasn't right. Well it could have possible happened, but it wasn't something I'd ever heard about. "Well, who was it? Was it a family, or just a single parent? Were they nice? Common O-bachan, tell me!" I didn't want to admit it, I really didn't, but I was lonely. In my previous life I'd always been surrounded by a loving and caring family. In fact, I almost constantly missed my old family. My parents had been good to me. My father had been a military man, while my mom was a teacher.

They'd drilled manners into my head and how to act around adults. I was slightly ashamed to admit I hadn't been the most tactful person in this new life. Adults like the matron who saw me on a regular basis knew how much I liked to act innocent. They also knew that if you really ticked me off, I would go off on you with a surprisingly colorful vocabulary for a four year old. Without the constant eyes of my old parents, I found I was way more willing to mouth off to authority. I silently vowed to be a little more sincere to the matron from now on.

"Well it was a father who wanted to come see you. He has a wife and three children. He was one of the more stern kinds, but he seemed very polite. I told him that you weren't feeling very well and that he should come visit you tomorrow. So you should really be on your knees thanking me for-Ughff!"

I couldn't help it; I engulfed the matron in what I considered to be a bone crushing hug. To her though, my arms barely went around her waist. She'd really gone out of her way to do me a favor. Now I _had _to be nice to her!

"Thank you so much O-bachan! I promise I'll never ever, ever call you mean names again. I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you this morning! Please forgive me." I was ashamed to admit my eyes were watering by the time I was done. The matron only looked down at me with a knowing smile.

"Ah, don't get all sappy on me now, Naruto-chan. Out of all of my foster children, I rely on you to keep me on my edge. So where exactly did you go today?" Smiling up at her a little, I told her what all had happened that day, the lady in the store, the swing in the park and jumping off of it, which O-bachan frowned at.I told her about the tipsy man and how Maito Gai had saved me. "And then he was nice enough to walk me all the way back to the eastern district! It was pretty cool of him. Then I asked him if he could show me some basic ninja techniques. He said I could meet with him on Saturday to get started! Isn't that great O-bachan!"

She looked me up and down with a look I couldn't quite decipher. "Well Naruto-kun, when the nice man comes to see you tomorrow, if you like each other enough, I assume you might go home with him. It'll be up to him whether or not you're allowed to see this Maito Gai or not. But I bet if you ask nicely, he might let you." I let out a huge yawn that made the matron chuckle. She led me up and into my room where the other three boys were already asleep. Snuggling down into my blankets, I finally asked the question that had been in the back of his mind for minutes.

"Exactly who is the man who came to see me yesterday O-bachan?" The matron looked at me with an amused grin, before she answered.

"Oh, well since you thought it was a good idea to play hooky today, you can wait till tomorrow to find out." And with those closing words the matron gave me a cheerful smile, and closed the door behind her.

I heard her laugh down the hall when I yelled out in frustration, "OBA-CHANN!" Ducking pillows his roommates threw at him, he went to bed.

The Hokage's Mansion was the center of activity in Konoha. All of the paperwork going in and out of the system needed to be processed there. Every mission report and criminal file could be found in the archive room. Working at the Mansion itself was more of a prestigious job than most people would have thought. Not just any civilian could submit an application for the place. To even be a secretary you needed to have graduated from the Ninja Academy. The academy taught the children how to be ninja. It took a ninja to understand ninja bureaucracy. The only civilians to frequent the mansion were the select few allowed on the small council, or civilian council. They worked in conjunction with the village leaders when it came to domestic decisions, but were left in the dark when it came to the more militaristic side to Konoha.

To get the higher class jobs such as Archive or Mission Direction, you needed to be at least Chunin rank. The building was filled to the brim with classified information that needed constant surveillance.

If anyone was foolish enough to try and take anything from where it was supposed to be without the proper clearance was in for a nasty shock. Silent alarms would notify the Anbu and the Hokage where the issue was and they would act. It was really advanced stuff, top of the line.

So when one of the most classified scrolls in the tower was suddenly a no show, people were right to be worried.

"Sensei, I received your message, which scroll's been stolen? Musta been pretty important to get everyone running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

"There's a door for a reason Jiraya! Thanks for getting here as quickly as you did, I appreciate it. It seems that a little over an hour ago, the silent alarm was triggered, but no one was notified until a few minutes ago! That means an inside job."

"Shit, so you think it was an Anbu? It' only what makes sense. They're the ones who get the alarm first right? Man that sucks."

"No kidding," laughing slightly at Jiraya's bluntness, "I've informed all of the Anbu captains of the issue. They're roll calling as we speak. If someone's missing, we'll know in a few minutes." Pausing for a second, the Hokage took a look around his office.

It looked the same it had the _last_ time he'd used it. Minato had never been one for decoration. He had liked the way the Sandaime set it up. Something about it just feeling right. Hiruzen, personally, had to agree. The office had a homey feel, with all of the walls and floors being a nice shiny wood. Plush red chairs sat in front of his huge desk, they were super comfortable. Not as comfortable as _his _chair, but close. Pictures of the previous Hokages hung on the right wall of the office. A watchful eye on any who entered. Hiruzen's desk was a controlled chaos. A picture of his family sat closely next to the one of his students. Back then they'd looked so adorable!

Smirking a little to himself at his own inner musings, he looked back to his student.

"You need to keep what I'm about to tell you on the down. The scroll that's missing contained information on…" Taking a quick look around, looking more nervous than Jiraya had seen in a long time, the Sandaime made a quick hand signal. Two Anbu Black Ops jumped down from the hidden rafters they had been in. Stepping outside the doors of the office, the two Ops left Jiraya alone with the Hokage. Feeling especially cautious the Hokage made a few complex series of hand seals. A bluish light surrounded the room for an instant before it disappeared. Feeling a little safer now that the obvious precautions had been put up, the Kage began to speak.

"The Information contained in that scroll depicts a diagram of the defenses surrounding Konoha. Specifically the seals involved and where they are located in the village. As you know, Konoha is constantly surrounded by a complex sphere made of many different seals. These seals are hidden throughout the village disguised as various objects or rooms in the village; separated so that in case one set of seals go down, there would always be one or two to back it up. The scroll that was taken contained information on one of these locations. The location that's described in that specific scroll is what's got me _really _worried. It should be the most secure of the hidden locations. There are a certain number of people in the village that even have that kind of clearance."

"So what kinds of people _do_ clearance?" The Sandaime gave his student a look that spoke volumes of his weariness. Heaving a sigh, the Kage reached down onto his desk and grabbed his pipe. This conversation was going to require tobacco.

"Well, to answer that question, you must know that the hidden locations change every time a new Hokage is chosen. The last person who chose these places was of course was the Yondaime. When I returned to the seat of power, I decided to leave the seals where Minato left them, for convenience sakes of course. One of the locations he chose was the Kaminari Ryu complex."

Letting that sink in for Jiraya, the Hokage stood up and turned around to look out over the village. When he looked back at his student to gauge his reaction, he saw what he expected. Jiraya had been clever as a child, absurdly so sometimes. People had called his teammate the genius, but Jiraya had always had a certain problem solving talent. It's what helped him become the seal master that he was. It was what helped him become the _Sanin_ that he was. He saw that problem solving skill working like a well oiled clock, all over his students face. It didn't really take long, he was a smart boy.

"And this was the location identified in the missing scroll, am I right? So then how the hell did some Anbu know about it?

"That's right, and I don't know. The thief might not even know that the location belongs to Minato, but we can't take that chance. Your team and I know its location. Minato, of course was another who knew, including Kushina. They told me that neither of them informed anyone about its existence. So I can only assume one of you told somebody" They had helped Minato design the seals that hid the complex underneath the village. "Tsunade hasn't been accounted for in years, so it's possible she let something slip. I've sent a message to Orochimaru as well; he should be here any minute. There's not much we can do about Tsunade. If it was her we'll just have to go in blind."

"You of course realize what could happen if anyone unsavory got their hands on the kid's notes. If someone _were_ to find Minato's hideout, and trust me it'd be hard, they would have access to anything he left lying around the last time he was in there. Knowing the kid, I wouldn't be surprised if he left notes about all of his jutsu just lying around. "

Chuckling a little, the Hokage had to agree. While his successor had been an honest to god expert in almost any field, and a downright scary ninja when he wanted to, but he was still a kid at heart till the day he'd died. While it had been endearing in life, it was coming back to haunt everyone involved. If whoever had stolen that scroll found his way into Minato's hideout, there'd be trouble. Of course it would be nigh impossible to get into the place. The entire complex was designed to need the Hirashin to get in. It's why no one who knew about it could get into the place. Minato had left the seals activated when he died; never having the chance to deactivate them. Whoever had stolen the scroll had absolutely no chance of getting into that building. The place was underground behind the Hokage monument. The hidden path a normal person would use to get in required the Yondaime's blood. It wasn't like there was any of that around anymore…

"Jiraya, do you think someone could use a family member's blood to enter the complex?" As the Sandaime looked over at his student's face; he knew the answer. "Get a team on Uzumaki Naruto NOW!"

I happened to be lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling. It was something that often happened to me in hmy previous life. Whenever the stress of school, or life in general, piled up high enough, I found myself unable to sleep at all. It didn't do anything but make me even more stressed out. Now even in my new life, this frustrating habit was haunting me. I wanted to sleep, to just lay my head down and deal with all of these problems the next day.

Unfortunately whenever I tried to clear my mind and focus on the silence, the nightmares of my future came revving right back up to the surface. I couldn't avoid them all, Orochimaru, Akatsuki, Obitio, Madara, Kabuto, Edo-Tensei, Kyubi, _Sasuke!_ It was almost enough to kill a kid. So much responsibility thrust onto me, the only logical solution, strength. The only way I would survive the events that were quickly approaching was to gain _power_! Unable to suppress a small smirk, I thought to myself," Guess it's a good thing I have an absolutely limitless supply lodged into my stomach!

Chakra was a strange thing. I was constantly aware of the feeling of it running throughout my body. It wasn't uncomfortable, and it felt natural. Someone who had spent fifteen years without it though had a hard time trying to ignore it. I kept accidentally focusing on the feeling of the strange substance in my body, which kept me up for _hours_ some nights. If I really concentrated, and if I went down deep into myself, I could feel something revolting. It churned in my gut, and when I found it, it made me gag. The original Naruto had mastered his Kyubi. To me, it seemed nearly impossible! How could something that felt so evil, be changed for good. Just one more problem I'd have to deal with.

I had been debating for four years what I would do about my situation. Would I try to save as many lives as possible, or keep it safe and ride the plot all the way through? That debate had, after tonight, been put to an unfortunate, unsatisfying conclusion. I _couldn't _do anything about the plot considering it's now lack thereof. At absolutely no point in the original story had anyone attempted to adopt me. I wasn't sure where the split had begun. I couldn't even be absolutely sure the events that came before my birth were what I thought they were. There was only one absolute certainty. I needed to get _stronger!_ Whatever events were on their way, I knew they would difficult and trying.

Attempting once more to put myself to sleep, I rolled around in another direction. Trying to dump all of the stressful information out of my head and calm my mind and get some sleep. I peaked open one eye to gauge just what time it was. Taking a glance outside the window I caught sight of something that made my blood run cold. Kneeling there, on the windowsill, staring right at me, were two yellow eyes. They looked like they belonged to a monster. I knew _which_ monster they belonged to. It was just too impossible to believe.

I wasn't sure if the man was radiating killer intent, but I wouldn't be surprised. There was an oppressive feeling weighing down on my entire body. I couldn't move an inch. All I could do was blink stupidly at the _impossible_ sight in front of me. I almost blurted out, "I was just thinking about you," but felt that wouldn't do well to preserve my life. As I lay there, I watched the snake push open the windowsill, and step into the room. Leaning over to look me in the eye, Orochimaru began to hiss, "There you are, _Naruto-kun _. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me a hand, or a foot, maybe even a heart! You see, I need something you have inside you" Eyes widening in pure animalistic fear, I tried to leap out of the bed towards the door. I should've known it was hopeless. This man was one of the Sanin! He wouldn't let some brat scramble away from him. There was nowhere to run to.

The monster merely reached out and grabbed me by the back of my hair. I let out a short shriek that woke the other kids in my room. Orochimaru flipped me around so that we were face to face. He moved his hand from the back of my head to my mouth, covering the whole thing. I thought that the snake was gripping it so hard my face would be crushed. If I'd thought that he'd been releasing killing intent before, it was _nothing_ compared to what he was dishing out now. I lost all perception of the world around me. All I could see was my _death_! Over and over and over and over again in the most gruesome ways. All I could see was my death, and _His _eyes. I barely registered the three kunai that flew over my shoulder, and then one more.

"Now that wasn't very nice, I was only asking for your help! You see you have _special_ blood," the way he said special made my skin crawl, "and I need a little…You wouldn't mind terribly if I borrowed some, do you?"

It was the first time I'd ever been stabbed. It hadn't happened in my last life, and it certainly hadn't happened in the four years I'd spent re-growing up. The knife slipped into my stomach in a sickening squelch. The blood Orochimaru desired flowed from the wound like a fountain. The life-bearing liquid flowed down onto the floor where what looked like a scroll was waiting for it. I gagged as the blood traveled up my throat and out of my mouth, splattering all over his hand. Obviously pissed that I'd gotten blood all over his hand, Orochimaru moved his hand down to his throat and squezzed. I found my hands shaking, reaching to where he had stabbed me.

I wasn't sure what I thought I could do. It was just instinct to try and stop the blood! You were supposed to apply pressure to an injury to stop the bleeding, right? I had to remember to breathe a moment later, when I realized I'd forgotten to for a few moments. But that wasn't surprising. I was an easily distracted boy! Things like a knife in my chest and Orochi-fucking-maru's killing intent, tended to be a little distracting. Seeming satisfied, he let go of my throat, dropping me onto the bed on my knees.

Feeling faint, I began to fall backwards . The mad-man chuckled as he let me fall off the bed and onto the floor. Seemingly satisfied with the amount of blood he collected, Orochimaru kneeled down and rolled up the scroll that had been catching my blood.

"Well, I thank you for your cooperation. You have been most…helpful. Kekekekeke." I was unable to do anything but wonder what had just occurred. I lay on the floor for several minutes. I thought I'd bleed out when a figure landed in front of my vision. At first I was briefly terrified Orochimaru had returned to finish the job. Looking a little bit off the floor to see if the snake had come back, I laughed in relief, but gagged when it caused me to cough up some blood. They were Anbu Black Ops. I wasn't sure how they'd known what had happened, but I was glad they were there.

I was startled to realize that with Orochimaru's killing intent gone I could think clearly. That had just happened, and there was nothing I could have done to stop it. Feeling the deliria wash away into more frustration, anger, and pain. I felt myself shaking I was so scared. I briefly noticed steam slowly rising off my chest. Rolling a little so I was out of the puddle of blood I'd made, I took a shaky look around and noticed none of the other children were moving. There was also a figured lying in a heap in the door frame.

Eyes widening in disbelief I stumbled over my own feet to get a better look. I gasped and coughed up some more blood. My stomach was on _fire_! Falling to my knees, I looked down at the gaping hole that looked unnatural. I found myself even more confused when I noticed the steam rising off the edges. The hole was slowly closing shut. Looking up, I refocused on the bodies that _should _have been moving. I began to rub my eyes furiously to make the _impossible _image go away. There, lying in an undignified heap, was the matron.

I felt a hand on my shoulder that turned me to look. Standing over me was one of the Anbu Black Ops that had just arrived. He took his mask off, probably to keep from frightening the small kid, and he smiled at me.

"Hey kid, how you doin?" It was the preverbal dam breaking. It only took one sentence to render me a kid once more. Feeling the tears run down my face, I put a hand up to feel.

Why was I crying? So yeah, maybe she had taken care of me. So what if she'd taught me how to read? So what if their constant arguments made me feel right at home? Why did I _care_ so much?

Not being able to hold it back anymore, I let out a loud sob, and stuffed my face in my hands. I had never seen people dead like that. It wasn't right!

The Anbu's hand gently left my shoulder, whispering a small apology to me; he chopped the back of my neck skillfully. My vision faded, and I fell into unconsciousness.

"What a huge mess. You don't think the kid did all of this do you?" Looking around, each of the children in the room had a kunai skillfully lodged in their throats. The woman who was at the door was no different.

"Well he is the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi right? Maybe he went crazy. They can get pretty scary when they want to right?" His partner could be real piece of work some times. He always liked to blow things out of proportion.

"No, look at those kunai. The kid couldn't have possibly done anything like this, not that precisely. Besides look at him, he's covered in blood. Someone else had to have done this to him. Look," Taking a look at the boy, you could see _something_ hissing closed on his chest. It took a second, but the Anbu realized it was a wound, and it was getting _smaller,_ "that means that we still one suspect unaccounted for. You report this incident to Hokage-sama. I'll get this kid to the hospital."

The man gave a quick nod and disappeared. Putting his mask back on, the nameless Anbu agent lifted the child into his arms, and disappeared as well.

A light shining on my eyes woke me up. Cracking one lid open, trying to find the offensive light, I saw someone I didn't expect. The Sandaime was standing next the window in my room. It looked like he had just opened the blinds a little.

"W-what are you doing here Hokage-sama?"

Not really the most graceful I'd ever been in front of authority figures, but what could you really do? It was defiantly a welcome change considering the last person I'd seen unexpectedly.

"Oh, I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I didn't mean to wake you. I just thought that this room could use some natural sunlight!" The Hokage proceeded to open the curtains the rest of the way. That explained it I thought. I couldn't help but flinch as the rest of the light landed on my eyes. I tried to hide under my covers to avoid the blinding light, which made the old man chuckle, "Oh come now Naruto-kun! That's no way to face the day! Get up boy; I have something I need to talk to you about."

Sensing the man was getting serious, I peaked my head out of the covers. The Hokage was looking at me with a sad look, as if he was regretting the conversation ahead.

"Do you have any recollection of the events that transpired last night? You do realize what happened don't you?" The Hokage paused. I stumbled for a minute before I spoke.

"A man that looked like a snake came in threw threw the window." The Hokage's eyes widened for a moment before he urged me to continue, "He said that I had something he needed inside of me, then he stabbed me, and killed my roommates. And my-" I stopped myself short when I realized that I was choking up. Trying to calm down, I continued, "-and my matron…".

The Hokage looked down at me forlornly. "I'm sorry for your loss, Naruto-kun. I don't believe we've ever met. My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, I'm the third Hokage."

"Uh, it's nice to meet you Hokage-sama. I don't mean to be ungrateful, but what are you doing here?"

The Sandaime paused, which gave me a moment to get my thoughts together.

I shouldn't have been attacked last night. Orochimaru shouldn't have been anywhere near Konoha. I wasn't supposed to meet the bastard until the Chunin exams. That was a whole eight years too soon. What had Orochimaru been after in the first place!

"_You see I need something you have inside you!" _

Kyubi! Suddenly feeling panic rise to my chest, I felt out for the foul chakra. Feeling the comfortable familiar feel of my normal energy, I went deeper. I gagged a little when I mentally brushed up against the foul substance. It was still there? Why had Orochimaru attacked me then?

I was beginning to realize how _arrogant_ I'd been. I'd thought that, "So what if I'm not strong _now._ I have plenty of time to get strong! I have a limitless supply of energy lodged in my gut!" As soon as I'd been put in a situation where I should've acted, I'd frozen. I couldn't even get _angry_ enough to call on the Kyubi's chakra I'd been so terrified!

The attack had been an eye-opener. I couldn't relax. In this world I needed to constantly be getting stronger. I couldn't afford to stop. The unpredictability of this new world meant my life was on the line. Would the changes of this world stay small? Or would they snowball into one huge mess? I was broken out of my thoughts when the Hokage began to speak.

"The man who assaulted you, his name is Orochimaru. He's one of _my_ students. Last night he revealed himself a traitor to the village. He was after something very important. Luckily two of my Anbu Black Ops came across the aftermath of your attack. I was notified and search teams were sent out. Orochimaru never came close to what he was looking for."

_WHAT? _I thought to himself. It was one more change in the timeline. Orochimaru should've already been declared traitor. That was supposed to happen even before the Kyubi attack right? I wasn't sure exactly sure when that happened. It had been four years of mind numbing childhood, and I was starting to forget minor details.

It was also a chilling thought. Orochimaru experimented on people. How much more could he have gotten done in the years he'd been left alone? I tried not to think about it too hard.

"If this man was looking for something so important, why did he come after me?" I had a few ideas. I wasn't sure what someone like Orochimaru could do with his blood, but it couldn't be good.

"Oh well you see Naruto, the thing Orochimaru was looking for requires blood to activate. He figured that if he killed a few orphans that no one would notice. It was never you he was specifically after. I'm truly sorry you and your friends were targeted Naruto-kun."

Bullshit was my first thought. It sounded like a rehearsed line that the Hokage must have thought would work on a four year old. It's not like I could call him out on it though. All I could say was, "Oh."

"Were you told that a family was looking to adopt you?" When I nodded the Hokage continued. "They are a group of remarkable people that I am personally very close to. When they were told about what you went through, they rushed here. They actually spent the night here with you. They were even here when I arrived. I merely asked them for a moment alone with you. It's ultimately up to you whether or not you'd like to go with them or not, but I implore you to get to know them. Would you like to meet them?

Suddenly feeling very nervous, I nodded.

"Don't be too scared Naruto. You couldn't find better people!" The Hokage walked out the door for a moment, before holding it open to let someone in.

"Naruto, I'd like you to meet Uchiha Fuggaku and his wife Mikoto."

"There's absolutely no way it was Orochimaru! You know he wouldn't do something like this. What the hell is going on Sensei?" Jiraya was livid. Not a lot of people could storm into the Hokage's office and start yelling at him. Most people would have been tackled and restrained by the hidden Anbu, but the Hokage's student was defiantly a special case.

"It's hard to say Jiraya," the Sandaime was sitting at his desk with his favorite pipe in his mouth, "His apartment was sacked last night. We found the location of a hidden basement. What we found has me greatly disturbed…"

"What _did_ you find sensei?" Jiraya stopped pacing and sat down in one of the plush green chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Placing his head in his hands he listened to his mentor.

"It's honestly hard to describe Jiraya. It's obvious that he's been trying to perfect the process of implanting artificial kekkki-genkai. There are charts that depict how his research has progressed. It explains the increase in missing persons over the past year." Jiraya paled. "He started by implanting the genome in a fully grown adult. It obviously didn't take. Looking at his notes you can see a decrease in the age of the subjects as the past year progressed."

The Hokage described his student's underground work with a certain bland interest. Orochimaru had never hid his curiosity to the world. Everyone knew he was a man of science, and most of his experiments he publicly demonstrated. Orochimaru wasn't nearly as cold as his notes made him sound. Sure he looked like a snake, but his student was supposed to be a happy- go-lucky scientist.

Jiraya and Orochimaru shared a certain cheerfulness about the world that radiated when they were in the same room. Their personalities were so alike it was scary. The only difference between the two was that Orochimaru wasn't an open pervert…He was a closet one.

So the report of Naruto's attack, included with this disturbing evidence of experimentation on people, had him at a pause. Hiruzen went over any memory of his student he could recall, any evidence that would point to _his _student doing these things. Could he have missed the signs? Had he not paid enough attention? Hiruzen had stationed many trusted ninja at the entrance, but Orochimaru never showed up. He must have fled the village once he realized Naruto's attack had been discovered. The only reason the crime scene had been found as early as it had been is because he'd ordered Anbu to guard Naruto. He'd been only a few minutes late.

The crime scene was a little _too_ perfect. Orochimaru's finger prints were all over each kunai. Long strands of black hair were found on the windowsill Naruto pointed out. Speaking of the Jinchuriki, the boy had given an accurate description of his student. The mere mention of his student's name made Naruto bristle. There was _hate_ in those eyes. The only explanation for why Naruto didn't access his tenant's power was fear. There was no doubt that the experience had shaken the poor kid bad…

And that's why he thought his student was being framed. If there was one thing Orochimaru wasn't, it was frightening. The children had also been brutally murdered. Orochimaru had never been able to kill a child. During the second and third Great Ninja Wars, Orochimaru had come across many children. He always let them go.

Glancing at his student he changed the subject from Orochimaru to Naruto. "I think Naruto is going to live with the Uchiha main family from now on. Fuggaku has personal reasons to want Naruto as a son, and Mikoto's too weak for that kind of thing now."

Jiraya looking upset at the subject change, nodded hesitantly, "Well if there was any family that I wouldn't mind taking in Naruto, it would be them. Fuggaku's a good sort. The only thing I'm worried about is how the rest of their clan would take it. You and I both know that the Uchiha took the greatest hit four years ago. Almost half of their people were trampled. It could be a dangerous place for him to grow up, don't you think sensei?"

When the Kyubi appeared that night, it had done massive damage to the village overall. But if any clan had taken the brunt of it's wrath, it was the Uchiha. A good number of the front lines were Uchiha clan. Not only had many of them perished in their assualt, but when the Kyubi realized their plan was to use a massive genjutsu on it, it displayed intelligence no one expected. Using it's body weight it crushed much of the Uchiha district.

Most of the collateral damage was to the civilian portion of the Uchiha. Now every four out of five Uchiha were ninja. The only civilians left were those that had survived four years ago. Parents now encouraged their children to become ninja. To them, it was now a disgrace to aim to get a civilian job.

It wouldn't surprise Jiraya that they might have some hate for the blonde host. Fuggaku was a different kind of man. Fuggaku was a personal friend of the Hokage. He had a set of morals that revolved around honor. He was offered a place in many of Konoha's systems. However he had specifically requested that he be allowed to start a police department. It was the first in Konoha's history. Fuggaku didn't care much for the going ons outside of the village, but wanted to maintain peace inside of it. Anyone who had ninja training was allowed to join the police force. It offered a nice constant job for those ninjas who wanted a decent pay check, but didn't want to take anymore long-term missions.

All thses things just said, Fuggaku was the good sort. Really though, the main reason he trusted the man so much with his godson, was that Fuggaku and Minato had been on the same genin team.

Naruto would do just fine.

**Sooooooooo, what did you guys think? Did I leave you with enough questions to get intrested? I hope so! Reviews are SO welcome! I'm always open to contructive criticism. I can't wait to see what you guys think. I was looking foreward to this so much the first time I posted this chapter I forgot the author's note! Haha, sorry.**

**I'm going to cut off here, so that no one can accuse me of racking up the word count with this note. I'm looking foreward to you guys reading what I have to offer. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello once again! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

"Naruto, I'd like you to meet Uchiha Fuggaku and his wife Mikoto."

No way, I couldn't believe it. _This_ was the group of remarkable people? My memories of this family mostly consisted of unhappiness. The Uchiha were pretty much the center of misery in this world. So many problems stemmed from this family. Sasuke, Itatchi, the massacre, Madara, Obito, Mankegkyo sharingan. There were _so_ many variables with this family. What else about this world could be different? I hadn't thought I'd have to deal with Sasuke until the academy, but if they adopted me, he'd be my brother.

The couple looked just like I remembered. Fuggaku was a dark haired man with two harsh lines running down from the top of his nose to the middle of his cheeks, a trait he'd passed to his first son only. He had a strong jaw too, in all he appeared a very hard man. His wife, Mikoto, was on the complete opposite spectrum. Her dark hair framed an extremely soft face that appeared worried when she looked at me. Fuggaku wore what looked like a classic dark blue kimono. Mikoto wore a normal house dress that was a pretty green color.

When their eyes found me in my bed, they surprised me by both _smiling. _It was something I might've expected out of Mikoto, but her _husband_. I don't even think I had a memory of the man smiling. Mikoto covered wiped her eyes quickly, she must have been crying recently, for me? Weird. Fuggaku had an arm around his wife's shoulder. He led her further into my room and looked back at the Hokage. "Thank you very much Hiruzen, I appreciate it."

So he was allowed to address the Hokage by his first name? Were they close? It was something I would need to make a mental note about.

"Don't mention it Fuggaku, I just needed to ask Naruto-kun a few questions. You can talk to him now." The Hokage turned to the door before my potential foster stopped him.

"You're not staying?"

"No, I have an important meeting with the shinobi council in an hour. I was hoping to talk to Jiraya about the situation before I went."

Fuggaku flinched a little and glanced at me, "I understand. Good luck."

"Thank you," the Hokage was about to leave again before he turned back around to me, "If you ever have any questions Naruto-kun, never hesitate to come talk to me. I'm not hard to find, just look for the most important room in the biggest building in the village." Chuckling a little, I waved bye to the old man as he walked out of the door. He was pretty cool. A clearing of the throat focused my attention back on to the other occupants in my hospital room. Fuggaku was smiling nervously at me. Rubbing a hand on the back of his head, he began to speak.

"Hello son, my name's Uchiha Fuggaku, and this is my wife, Mikoto. We had come to the Orphanage yesterday to meet you, but you weren't feeling well. Were you told why we wanted meet you?" I nodded, and he smiled a little wider, "I have three children, so you wouldn't be alone. My first child is a boy, four years older than you are, his name is Itatchi. We also have a boy around your age, that's Sasuke. Our last kid is a girl who's two now, her name's Mikasa. They're all very nice children… I understand if you don't want to go back to the orphanage right away. My wife and I were wondering if you might like to spend a night or two at our house. That way we could get to know each other."

Um, wow, this wasn't what I had been expecting when he opened his mouth. I had been expecting a stern voice telling me that I _had_ to live at the Uchiha compound from now on, not…_this. _Fuggaku was speaking to me in a kind voice, being careful not to push too hard. He was probably worried that I was traumatized. I kinda was, I realized. I _did not_ want to go back to that orphanage. I never wanted to walk through the door into my old room. I _never_ wanted to see that door again.

Then there was this mysterious third child. Originally there had been only two, Itatchi and Sasuke. This Mikasa was another new variable. In four years I hadn't interacted with any of the original characters. In one night I had learned that Orochimaru had only just become a traitor, Fuggaku and the Hokage were on a first name basis, Fuggaku had another child, and he wanted to adopt me. It was frightening how quickly things were changing. What else was going to come next? I couldn't rely on my foreknowledge at all. There went my only advantage. _Damnit!_

"What do you think?" Oops, I'd let my mind wander off again.

"I don't want to go back to the orphanage." I looked into my lap with barley restrained disgust. I had technically been alive nineteen freaking years, and I still had to rely on others to get by. If my emotions were showing, Fuggaku didn't mention it. He merely smiled at me softly.

"Why do you want to adopt me?" I looked up from my lap and met his surprised eyes. He had looked momentarily shocked, but his smile never left his face.

"Well boy, I made a promise to someone a few years ago, but forget all of that nonsense! It's in the past, and now I have another reason to adopt you!" I felt confused, and it must have shown because he chuckled lightly, "I heard from Maito Gai that you want to become the 'best' ninja in the world? Well I _was _someone who was put up for candidacy of the Fourth Hokage with the Yellow Flash himself!" The man looked _so_ smug when my jaw dropped. Seriously? They had been trying to decide between Fuggaku and the Yellow- freaking-Flash?

"Wait you know Eyebrows?" Fuggaku laughed out loud at my exclamation. I felt mildly embarrassed. I giggled a little myself when I heard Fuggaku mutter something about, _even children notice them! _

"Yes, he and I were on the same team growing up. He was actually also considered for the Fourth's position, but he declined saying, NO JOB WILL TRAP _ME_ BEHIND SOME DESK! I'M A FIGHTER!" His impression of Gai was spot on. Fuggaku smiled widely when he noticed how much I was laughing. He looked over at his wife as if to say, '_See? I am funny!'._

I hadn't known Gai and Fuggaku were on the same team. Was that cannon, or something new? I guess it didn't matter. Perhaps years of constant youth were to explain Fuggaku's personality? Either that or cancer.

I looked over at Mikoto as she began to talk, "You don't have to worry about your things, I'm going to go grab them on the way to the house. Fuggaku can walk you home, and I'll meet you later. I'm sure you'll love it there!" Waving bye to me, she kissed her husband on the cheek, then opened the door and walked out.

Giving a light 'yosh', Fuggaku stood up from where he'd been kneeling next to me. "The nurse says you're free to go, so we can go ahead and get you on out of here! I'm sure your hungry, hospital food sucks."

Laughing some more, I threw the covers off of me, "Yeah, hospitals _are_ evil! They give you shots and cruddy food. Also I'm not sure if it's true, but I'm pretty sure they make kid medicine as disgusting as possible! I've_ seen_ adult medicine, it's just a pill! Why do I have to eat the purple sludge?" The medicine I was talking about was a children's brand. It was a disgusting purple dredge that had the consistency of a Grimer from Pokemon! Fuggaku must have known what I was talking about because he looked highly amused.

"Well than you'll be disheartened to know that that is the Uchiha household's choice of children's medicine!" He smirked at me when I stared steely at him. "Get dressed boy, when your done we can check out!" I was thrown some folded clothes, and then left alone. Looking down, it was a white shirt with a red Konoha symbol on it, a pair of navy shorts, and some underwear. At least they weren't shoving the Uchiha symbol down my throat yet!

Throwing off the hospital gown I'd woken up in, I began to put on the clothes Fuggaku left for me. Being left alone in the room gave me a minute to think. This Fuggaku seemed like a great guy. The main difference seemed to be that he knew how to work with kids. He probably really liked kids, which might explain Mikasa's existence.

The matron and my roommates had been killed by Orochimaru last night. I had tried to avoid thinking about it throughout the conversation, but now that I was alone it all came rushing back. I hadn't known my roommates very well. My roommates had been adopted a couple of times and their beds refilled with other orphans. The three that had been killed last night had only slept in that room for two months. It was my fault they died. The Hokage could say all he wanted to about it all being a coincidence, but Orochimaru _knew _my name. Of course, what adult in the village didn't, but it was still too much to just be a _coincidence_! He'd targeted my blood. Orochimaru had come after me knowing that he would be declared a traitor for it, so why? I wasn't sure if a Jinchuriki's blood was special, but what else could the snake have wanted it for?

Thinking about last night ultimately brought me to my matron. She'd spent four years berating me and jumping on my case, and it would never happen again. That familiar feeling of the matron guiding my hand through dictionaries would never happen again.

I had to take a deep, gasping breath, and regain my composure. I slapped my face hard a few times to rid myself of the tears threatening to fall. I instinctively put a hand to my stomach, expecting bandages and soreness, but all there was there was smooth skin. I didn't think I'd ever forget the feeling of his hand over my mouth, and the knife slipping into me. Yeah I never wanted to do that again. Being stabbed sucks, I concluded.

Nodding to myself, I opened the door and stepped outside.

(Last Night)

"How is he?" Sasuke took a bite out of his home cooked udon, as he pretended not to listen to his parent's conversation. Apparently the foster kid his parents had been talking about adopting for months had been attacked tonight. Sucks to be him, he thought smugly. Sasuke was never an openly mean kid, but he couldn't help but resent this foster kid. It mostly had to do with the fact of _when _his parents had told him.

Two days before he'd found out, he'd 'accidentally' tripped Mikasa. Of course when his mother had accused him, he'd denied the heinous crime! His father had just looked at him with a frown, and said men don't lie. Sasuke's dad was his hero. He was kind and strong, but firm where he needed to be. He was an accomplished ninja who'd almost become Hokage and led his own police force! Safe to say, Sasuke had one of the coolest dads out there. So when his dad expressed open disappointment in him, he genuinely felt bad. About lying of course, he didn't regret tripping the little bugger at all!

Two days later his parents had sat him and his brother and sister and told them the news. Itatchi seemed excited, he liked being an older brother. He always played with Mikasa when she asked, and indulged Sasuke when he asked to train. Itatchi had just said he couldn't wait to meet the foster, whose name was apparently Naruto, and walked out.

Mikasa who still hadn't forgiven Sasuke for tripping her, jumped to the conclusion that her parents were doing this to replace him! She'd stood up on her two tiny feet pointing a pudgy finger at him and said, "Hehehe, tha's wha you get Niiiiiii-chan! Mommy and Daddy gettin rid of you!" She'd run off and out of the way of his swipe in a flash. Before he could make chase his mother had grabbed his collar and told him to leave his sister alone. Mikasa stuck her tongue out at him that got him steaming.

Sasuke didn't _really_ want this Naruto kid to be hurt. In fact he was kinda looking forward to having someone his age to play with. Itatchi was older and more soft spoken and Mikasa was a leech with legs. Neither really gave Sasuke the outlet he needed. Sure they were his siblings, but they weren't real friends. And with the academy still two years away it would be awhile before he got to make any friends. So this foster kid could potentially fit the bill.

But no matter what Sasuke did, he couldn't forget his sister's words. What if this kid _was_ going to replace him? Then they defiantly wouldn't get along. It was a cruel, mean thought, and Sasuke knew it, but he hoped the foster would get hurt. That way he couldn't take _his_ place.

Sasuke dropped his chop sticks into his udon bowl and put his head down on the table. If his father knew he'd thought things like that, he'd be disappointed. He didn't want to disappoint his father any more than he'd already had, so Sasuke would play nice. Give this foster kid the benefit of the doubt.

That's what his father would want anyway.

(Present Time)

"It's good to see everyone again. I'm glad everyone could make it to the meeting today." The Hokage said as he walked into the oblong room that housed the entirety of the Shinobi Council. The table consisted of Jounin commanders to council heads and elders. All of the main and minor clans were sitting on the right side of the table. While the regular high ranked shinobi sat on the left. Excluding of course the Uchiha head, but Hiruzen had excused Fuggaku personally. He had more important things to deal with. They'd talked outside Naruto's room before he'd awoken about the situation. The Sandaime preferred it that way anyway. It gave them to voice their thoughts without any decorum, like friends.

Fuggaku had known Orochimaru. He'd known that Orochimaru had a kind heart, unlike those on the council that didn't know him. This abrupt change of tone had Fuggaku extremely suspicious. He'd expressed some of the same concerns Hiruzen had. The crime scene was absolutely perfect. Fuggaku's men had more evidence then they usually ever got from a shinobi involved homicide. One of the Sanin _didn't_ leave evidence, ever. Either someone had framed his student; Orochimaru was trying to leave some kind of message, or both.

If Orochimaru had been targeting Minato's complex, he should have gotten in. A few Anbu captains wouldn't have stopped him. Hiruzen had personally checked the entrance, nothing had been touched. So if it was a framing, maybe Orochimaru had been trying to leave a message with his evidence. Fuggaku shared most of his concerns, and promised to investigate further.

The Sandaime began the meeting by explaining what had happened last night, and his student's betrayal. Most people were openly shocked. Who would've thought that someone trained by the 'God of Shinobi' himself would turn traitor. This was especially shocking to those few of the council that were personally acquainted. He told them of the scroll's theft, and the Jinchuriki's assault, and finally his student's abrupt disappearance. Before letting anyone talk, the Sandaime felt like he should mention the police force's findings.

"The evidence left at the crime scene is undeniable, which has got me worried. I don't like bragging but my students are known for perfection. Orochimaru wouldn't have left any incriminating evidence unless he wanted to. So this means one of two things. There is someone out there framing my student, or he was trying to leave us a message."

The mood of the room was tense. Almost everyone was fidgeting uncomfortably. The meeting continued on with the Hokage filling in everyone with the details, and ordering specific people to do specific investigations. He asked Inuzuka Tsume to have her nin-dogs sniff out the crime scene and find out which direction Orochimaru had gone.

When the meeting was concluded most people filed out quickly. One man remained in his seat, staring straight ahead. Recognizing the request, the Sandaime walked down a few chairs and sat next to the hawkish man. Danzo, was a man he had mixed feelings about. They'd shared a team in the first Great Shinobi War, and had grown up together. Back then they'd gotten along famously. As time continued, Danzo's personality grew more and more cold and distant. Danzo's method was usually pretty extreme, and he and Hiruzen came to many clashes through the years, but they respected each other.

"So the snakes turned traitor eh?" The hawk looked over to the professor with his one showing eye.

"That's what it looks like on the surface…"

"Hmmmmm." Danzo tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table for a moment, before continuing, "How's the Jinchuriki? Did he show any signs of influence? I understand stress can force a host to start…changing."

"Is that what you want to know about Danzo?" Standing up, the Hokage turned to walk away, "We had this conversation four years ago. You know perfectly well what a Jinchuriki can do, and I know you think we should weoponize him. It's just not an option now. Naruto has learned independence. It's too late to try and take it away!"

"Don't be too sure Hiruzen, my methods are quite affective."

"You'd be surprised, Danzo…" The Hokage turned and walked away. Once he was too far away, Danzo muttered, "As would you, Sandaime-sama."

"Wow, so only Uchiha live in this place? It's like they have their own town!" It was truly impressive. Fuggaku had led me all the way in to the north-east side of the village, where most of the big clan complexes were located. The Uchiha's was the furthest back, right on the edge of the Hokage Monument, which Fuggaku said showed great respect towards the Uchiha.

"Yeah it is kinda that way isn't it? I'm actually the head of the whole clan. So our house is the furthest back. It's a hassle, but at least it's a friendly walk."

Fuggaku was right, I noticed that a lot of people gave the man nods of respect or friendly waves when he walked by. I also noticed some men giving me a piercing look. Catching on, Fuggaku put his hand on my shoulder.

"Ignore them. They're blood purists who think it's disgraceful for any non-Uchiha to enter the grounds. They'll come around eventually!" Even with Fuggaku's reassuring smile, I wasn't so sure. The look I'd been given felt familiar. It felt like some of the looks I'd been given on the way here. Smiling a little to the kind father, I followed him the rest of the way to his house.

On the way through the complex, I'd noticed some strange things. The Uchiha actually had their own academy! Was that cannon? I wasn't sure. Something else that worried me were the signs strewn up all over the place. They were hard to read because the kanji looked almost like graffiti writing, but from what I could gather they said things like, "BLOOD PURITY! THE SHARINGAN CURSE! RISE!"

Well that…was disturbing. Was it Uchiha propaganda? Was there unrest amongst the clan members? There were some people in uniform trying to take them down, were those the police force?

"What's with the posters Fuggaku-san, they seem pretty extreme." He looked at me with a surprised look, maybe he didn't think I'd notice.

"Oh, it was probably just some kids being punks, nothing too important." I shrugged, trying to ignore the fact that Fuggaku was lying to me. Kids didn't say things like that without a reason. Shaking my head a little I tried to ignore it for now, there were more important things to worry about, like Itatchi.

I would probably have time to deal with Sasuke, as long as his story stayed consistent, but I couldn't help but feel trepidation when thinking about the eldest Uchiha scion. Itatchi played such a pivotal role in the subterfuge aspect of things. Whatever Itatchi did in these early years would affect the direction the plot took. This third child also presented a problem. Without any idea of what she did in the potential future, she became a dangerous variable. Was she another Itatchi, cold and calculating? Or perhaps she would become revenge driven, traitorous maniac!

I had never been so very wrong. As we approached the house a small black haired blur rushed out and nearly tackled Fuggaku. It was a little girl. She wore a dress with the custom Uchiha blue. Her hair was down and nearly reached her shoulder blades.

"DADDY!" Fuggaku laughed as he reached down to pluck his daughter off the ground. She giggled as he spun her around. When he put her down she looked like she would fall over. I couldn't help but giggle a little at her dazed expression. It didn't stay that way long, she had heard me laugh apparently.

"Wha's so funny!" She sounded so offended!

"Uh, sorry. It's just that your face was really weird!" Stamping a foot on the ground, the little girl yelled up at him, "NA UH! _YOUR_ face's weird!"

Laughing, "That's you're comeback?"

"Yep! You just mad cause you didn think of it!" Crossing her hands over her chest, she looked up at me with a self satisfied grin. She hadn't perfected the trademark smirk it seemed. That grin was still infuriating though.

Fuggaku chuckled as he put a hand on each of our shoulders, "Settle down children. Let's go inside so Naruto can meet your bothers. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

I was shocked to realize who exactly this little girl reminded me of. As she introduced herself to me it felt like I was seeing ghosts, "My name's Mikasa! Nice to meet you!" She held her little fists on her hips in a superhero pose and looked up at me all dramatic like. Mikasa reminded me of the original Naruto almost. The way she talked was loud and in your face. It was also irresistibly adorable because she slurred almost everything she said. She was of course still a kid.

Her antics had successfully distracted me from my worries. Putting on a grin to match hers, I introduced myself, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you too!"

The Uchiha main families' house was pretty impressive. It reminded me of pictures of ancient Japanese shrines. When Fuggaku walked me and the twerp inside, I was met with the rest of the kids. Mikoto must have still been out grabbing my belongings. I would have to remember to thank her for that later. The first to approach me and Fuggaku was Itatchi. The father pulled his son into a quick hug before turning to me.

"Naruto, this is Itatchi. Itatchi, meet Naruto." Itatchi looked so _young_. Had this boy really gone through war? It couldn't have been all that many years ago. It reminded me of the child soldiers used in some of the more turbulent war zones in my previous life. No matter how talented a child was, it didn't justify sending them to finish your battles for you. A hand startled me out of my thoughts. Looking up the arm, I met Itatchi's eyes, and involuntarily flinched and looked away.

I brought up my hand and clenched Itatchi's. I tried to hide my trepidation, and look back at his face. I forced a smile onto my own and said, "It's nice to meet you."

Itatchi smiled a small smile, "And you as well, Naruto-kun. I'm glad you came to stay with us. I hope you enjoy it." Itatchi gave his hand one last squeeze before letting go. Turning his back to me, he called out, "Sasuke! Come say hello."

A head poked its head out from the corner, and scowled at me. I couldn't help but feel a bewildered look cross my face. Had I already done something to piss the bastard off? I tried to give Sasuke a small smile and a wave, "Uh, hi." Very eloquent Naruto, I thought.

Sasuke only scowled deeper, and disappeared from his corner. Raising an eyebrow, I looked over at Fuggaku. He gave me a small smile, "Sorry about that Naruto-kun. Sasuke's convinced you're here to replace him." Well that explained that. It was still kind of unfortunate though. It would make spending however long here very awkward. Looking back up at the kind man I gave him a hesitant chuckle and a scratch behind the head, "It's okay. Maybe he'll warm up to me later." Hearing the door open, everyone present turned to look. Mikoto stood in the door way carrying a small bag.

"I grabbed everything they said belonged to you Naruto-kun." I walked over to grab my bag as Itatchi announced he had something important to do. He gave his father another hug and his mother a kiss on the cheek before he turned to me.

"I'll see you at dinner tonight Naruto-kun. I hope you enjoy your stay." Rubbing his hand on my hair, he turned and walked out the door. I watched his back until he disappeared. Shrugging off how uncomfortable I was, I turned to smile at Mikoto.

"Thanks for grabbing my things Mikoto-san. Oh and thanks for letting me spend the night, I really appreciate it!" Mikoto smiled back at me before turning to her husband. She whispered something to him quickly and he nodded. Fuggaku walked off into another room on the right while Mikoto addressed me.

"Why don't I show you to the room you'll be sleeping in?" She put a hand on my shoulder, leading me down the hallway, "I've set up the guest room for you. It's not the biggest room, but it's still pretty nice."

The room she led me into looked like one of those traditional Japanese ones. Its door was one of those fancy sliding ones with Uchiha fans decorating it. It had a desk on the far end with a closet next to it, and a window on the side opposite of the door. Looking over to Mikoto I thanked her one more time.

"Oh sweetie, don't mention it! Would you like to see the rest of the house?" Mikoto showed me all over the house, which took a little over an hour considering the house's size. She showed me the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, and even a professional sparring room. Of course that room was off limits to me without permission.

"It's nothing personal of course. It's just that there's some dangerous equipment in there that I'd rather not let you get hurt on."

After the tour had ended, Mikoto led me into the backyard, (which was massive), where Sasuke happened to be playing tag with Mikasa. Mikoto then said the words every kid dreaded, "Sasuke-kun, why don't you let Naruto-kun play tag with you and Mikasa-chan!" My parents had done the same thing to me countless times in my previous life. Your parents always want you to make friends, and that's great and all, but a kid _hates _it when you force them to hang out with the new kid. I couldn't imagine how vindictive Sasuke was going on. I learned quickly.

Sasuke looked up at his mother, "But Mooooooooom!"

"No buts Sasuke-kun. Be nice to Naruto-kun, he's been through a lot." Sasuke looked down at the ground with an angry pout, but nodded anyway. With a smile of appreciation, Mikoto gave each of them a pat on the head and walked away. When his mother had walked away, Sasuke looked at me with and indignant face. Hoping to start out on a good foot, I smiled at him, "So what are you guys playing?"

"Tag," Was his quick response. Ok, so he was upset over something. I had to admit that he intimidated me a little. Sure he was just a little kid, but his opinion of me frightened me for some reason. I hadn't interacted with many kids my age in awhile, and Sasuke was an abrupt start. Trying again, "So who's it?"

I felt the dread rise into my chest. You never asked a kid who's it. Smirking, Sasuke lashed his palm out to my chest with a shout of 'TAG', effectively tripping me onto my butt. It was only instinctive to grab the brat's leg as he tried to run away. I couldn't help but yell tag right back at him. Jumping up trying to run away, I felt a hand grab the back of my shirt that threw me right back to the ground. Another 'TAG' was shouted. I tripped him before he could get away. I was just able to get out of his reach and take off towards Mikasa before he could get himself situated. Mikasa was giggling uncontrollably when I sprinted towards her, which startled a quick girly shout out of her. Probably because her brother was hot on my heels. I ran straight past her and looked back to see what Sasuke would do. Apparently even he could not resist the brotherly urge to snag his sister before running full tilt towards me. With a grin he grabbed my shoulder and shouted, "Run you idiot! She's as fast as I am!" Looking I realized Sasuke was right! Mikasa was running at me and Sasuke abnormally fast. Knowing I probably wouldn't be able to outrun her I followed Sasuke anyway. It wasn't long before I felt a small pudgy hand grab the back of my shirt. Instead of turning around to confront her, I sprinted towards Sasuke's exposed back.

Hearing me coming from a mile away, Sasuke boosted off with an inhuman burst of speed. Stopping I felt a small figure bump into my back. Turning to face Mikasa I asked, "How do you guys move so fast?" She looked at me a little bewildered before she said, "With our chakra dummy." I just nodded, and turned back to Sasuke's direction. Was it normal for people their age to channel chakra that well? Or was it just because they were the clan heirs? Trying to shrug off my question I turned back to Mikasa and flicked her noggin. A yell of 'TAG' reignited the battle.

Peering out of the screen door, Fuggaku smiled softly. He'd seen how unhappy Sasuke had been, but it seemed like they would get along just fine. Kids liked playing games, and games usually helped children forget their rivalries. He felt a little bad for the little blonde however. Sasuke and Mikasa did chakra control exercises every morning. It was natural for them to flood their muscles with their chakra whenever they did activities like running or jumping. Naruto was at a disadvantage when it came to his children's head start. If Naruto decided to live here permanently though, Fuggaku would do the same thing for him.

Naruto had noticed the propaganda on the way through the district. Fuggaku had of course lied to him. He knew exactly what those posters were about. The population of young adult Uchiha seemed to share a general idea. They had all of course been the young genin and chunin that had fought in third great shinobi war, and they were proud to be the survivors. They were proud to be shinobi and Uchiha.

After the Kyubi attack, most Uchiha wanted their children and grandchildren to become shinobi. The war veterans that had survived the Kyubi attack especially felt this way. They were hoping this next generation would bring honor back to the Uchiha. Of course there was a catch, there always was. Since the lack of Uchiha, some people decided to marry non-Uchihas. Some Uchiha were even leaving the compound! Before the attack, that had been unheard of. Before the attack, there had also been enough Uchiha to marry another without worrying about any inbreeding. It wasn't like that anymore. The amount of suitable marriages were few and far between.

A few babies had been born to these new families, and as greats as new life was, it caused some tempers to rise. Babies born to these families that weren't _completely_ Uchiha never had black hair or onyx eyes. It got those young radicals very heated. They were stirring up the belief that these children shouldn't even be allowed to be called Uchiha. They said that their blood was impure, and that if any of these children were able to develop a sharingan, that it would be a curse. Fuggaku snorted at the idea. It would be easy to dismiss these ruffians, if people weren't actually _listening_ to what they had to say. It seemed like many of the old traditionalists were discriminating against these new mixed families. In fact there had been a falling out with one of Fuggaku's own acquaintances and their family. Apparently he'd married some civilian girl and she'd gotten pregnant. His parent's had demanded that he abort the 'cursed' child and cast aside the civilian girl, in favor of a marriage contract they'd had written, with his_ cousin_ in mind. When he'd refused his parents they had cast him out and requested that his Uchiha name be marked out of the official records.

Fuggaku had refused it of course. These people were beginning to frighten him. They were becoming an aggressive, biased, bunch with crazy outlandish beliefs. It wouldn't be long before the 'purists' took drastic action. He had been approached a few months ago by a few of these 'purists' that had asked him his take on the situation, and what he planned to do about it. Fuggaku had told them he didn't care about the Uchiha's purity, that he just wanted people to go back to living their lives. They hadn't taken it well.

When Fuggaku had told Hiruzen about the situation he'd been worried. If the majority of his clan began reaching extremes, the village would call for action. No matter what they were getting upset about, people would take it as the clan trying to start a war. Not a world war, no nothing that big, but civil internal war was still war. Competing villages like Cloud would take it as Konoha growing weak, and they might attack. No matter how useful the Uchiha were, if they were a threat to Konoha's security, they'd be dealt with in the quickest way. It was all very worrying.

It made him question the logic of adopting Naruto. Fuggaku would have to keep a keen eye on the blonde, but he wouldn't be intimidated out of his silent promise to Minato. He'd also adopted the boy to show his support to these mixed breed families. As long as a powerful force like Fuggaku was backing them, the 'purists' probably wouldn't jump to any extreme measures. Probably.

"YOUR IT!" Sasuke shouted at me. Getting right back in his face I shouted back,

"NA UH, I TOTALLY GOT YOUR ELBOW!" Poking my shoulder hard,

"THEN HOW COME I DIDN'T FEEL IT!" Shrugging off his finger I put my own on_ his_ shoulder,

"CAUSE DUMMY, YOU CAN'T_ FEEL_ ANYTHING TOUCH YOUR ELBOW!"

"THEN WHY DID YOU TAG ME THERE!"

"IT"S WHAT I COULD REACH-hey wait a minute…where's your sister?" Startled out of the argument, Sasuke took a quick glance around. I looked all over the backyard as well.

"Uh…she was just here a minute ago. Ah crap, mom's going to kill us!" Sasuke looked back at me with a worried expression. Swallowing my panic, "Well she couldn't have gotten far, right? Let's go check further into the backyard, maybe she wondered off back there?"

Sasuke gave a quick nod of approval and we both rushed into the trees behind his house. We looked high and low, all over the forest for Mikasa, but we didn't see a sign of her. An hour into the search Sasuke and I looked at each other with noticeable apprehension. Sasuke looked like the little kid he was, worried that his parents would_ kill_ him, and I was just worried that this poor little girl was lost because of me. What if she had gotten hurt? Sighing, I was about to say we should keep looking when a figure startled me by appearing out of nowhere. Falling on my butt _again_ I looked up to see who it was. Itatchi stood there like he'd been there the entire time. Sasuke seemed surprised, but not nearly as startled as I had been.

"Itatchi, what are you doing here?" Sasuke looked up at his brother with a certain amount of hesitation and dread.

"Mother asked me to come get you two, its dinner time. What were _you_ two doing out here? Sasuke, you know Father doesn't like you wandering alone in the compound! Remember what he said? He has political enemies now, and he's worried about what they might do if happened to find you all alone. You should've known better, especially than to have brought Naruto out here its'-" Sasuke looked like he was about to cry. I imagined he looked up to his brother, and to be berated for something that wasn't _entirely _his fault must suck.

"We lost track of Mikasa-chan! And it wasn't Sasuke's plan to come back here, it was mine. We were worried what might happen if she got lost back here. So we came looking. I'm sorry." Looking up at Itatchi, I could see his stern frown morph into a bemused smile. Looking at Sasuke he asked if it was true. Sasuke glanced at me, then nodded. Sighing, Itatchi walked closer to me and Sasuke, and poked us in the forehead, hard.

"ITAI!" "ITAI!" Two simultaneous outcries had Itatchi chuckling. He picked Sasuke up under his arms and placed him on top of his shoulders. He held out a hand to me, which I hesitantly took hold of.

We made it home in under ten minutes, which probably shattered Sasuke's illusion of our search being a grand journey into unfamiliar territory. I almost asked Itatchi about Mikasa, before the brat opened the front door and rushed to hug Itatchi. Sasuke and I looked at each other for a second, before we both heaved a great sigh. Mikasa had of course merely walked inside while Sasuke and I had been bickering. She'd been bored and had left to chat with her mom.

Mikoto had made dinner for them all, which tasted fantastic! Sasuke and I retold our epic adventure of irony over the course of the meal, intentionally exaggerating. Going into detail of how we had run into rogue ninja, saved a princess, and freed a country. By the end Itatchi and Fuggaku were rolling their eyes, while Mikoto and Mikasa were giggling. Sasuke looked at me with a grin I didn't expect. Feeling it's contagious effects, I grinned back.

I told Mikoto that dinner had been great. It wasn't long after that I began yawning. Curse this four year old body! Mikoto began shooing me and the younger siblings to our rooms. I waited my turn for the shower and got ready for bed. Entering my room, I walked over to the room's desk were my belongings Mikoto had grabbed were. Opening the bag, I began to remove each item one at a time. First came a children's book. It was one that taught kanji for beginners. Next came a stuffed tiger, one I had actually nicked from the orphanage playroom a few months ago. I had hid it under my bed, Mikoto must have found it. After the tiger, I pulled out a few pairs of clothes that fit me nicely. Last was a blue rubber ball that bounced _really_ high if you put your arm into it. I'd stolen that toy too.

Placing my toys and book across the desk, I heaved my clothes over to my new closet. Not bothering to hang them up, I set them down on the floor next to a rolled up futon. I blinked in surprise when I realized that the room didn't actually have a bed. The orphanage had used small single kid beds, and I'd never used a futon before. Grabbing each edge of the roll up mattress, I rolled it out of the closet and to the middle of the room. It was kind of like the sleeping bags I used to use at parties except the bottom was thicker to provide support.

I walked over to the desk meaning to turn the light out, when I heard the door slide open. Fuggaku and Mikoto stood in the doorway. Fuggaku walked foreword and put a hand on my shoulder. "We just wanted to let you know that we're glad you decided to come stay with us. You can stay for as long as you'd like. You should also know that I wake my children up fairly early for remedial training, including chakra control, among other things. If you would like, you may join."

I looked up at Fuggaku, "Thank you Fuggaku-san, I'd love to go to your lesson! Saturday is the day after tomorrow. Am I still going to meet with Gai-san?" Fuggaku looked down at me and shook his head in a negative.

"It's not like I won't let you see him, but for now it would be best if you wait until later for the more intense training. Maito Gai's kind of training is the kind that would make most older shinobi tired. So for now, we'll keep it simple ok?"

"Ok." Nodding in approval, Fuggaku gave my shoulder a pat, wished me a goodnight, and left the room. Mikoto walked in, gave me a quick hug and wished me goodnight as well. When the door closed, I turned to the lamp and flicked it off. Crawling into bed, I closed my eyes. That night my thoughts didn't keep me up in anxiety. With my stomach full of good food, and my mind filled with happy memories of tag, I fell asleep.

**So a little shorter than my last chapter but I feel like I got a lot more done. What did you guys think? The first chapter was kinda a setup chapter to introduce you guys to the world. This one felt more like the beginning of my prologue arc. It'll probably last five or six chapters. In that time I'll set up most of the early significant plot changes and introduce the first conflict. Please Review! You guys have no idea how helpful creative criticism can be! I'd like to know what I can improve on and what you guys like so far! **

**Thanks for Reading! **


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